Prediction of oxygen and carbon dioxide solubilities in liquid foods and biological liquids using a group contribution method.

A predictive model to estimate gas solubility in solutions containing salts, sugars, and organic solvents (alcohols, ethers, aldehydes...) is proposed. It is based on the Van Laar assumptions and accounts for size difference between molecules in solution by their volumetric fraction. It is a group-contribution model where water, anions and cations are considered as groups, and other molecules are treated as in the UNIFAC procedure. Solubility of oxygen or carbon dioxide in aqueous solutions containing one salt, one sugar or one organic molecule at 25 degrees C, and water-salts-sugars mixtures were calculated and compared with experimental data when available. Finally, the model was used to estimate oxygen solubility in a ''typical'' beer and in a brine injected into meat for curing.